Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions

Human beings have destroyed the environment for a long time. They are now paying a high price for this

A. Because having destroyed the environment for a long time, human beings are now paying a high price for this

B. Having destroyed the environment for a long time, human beings are now paying a high price for this

C. On destroying the environment for a long time, they are now paying a high price for this

C. On destroying the environment for a long time, they are now paying a high price for this

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.

Human beings have destroyed the environment for a long time. They are now paying a high price for this

A. Because having destroyed the environment for a long time, human beings are now paying a high price for this

B. Having destroyed the environment for a long time, human beings are now paying a high price for this

C. On destroying the environment for a long time, they are now paying a high price for this

D. After being destroyed for a long time, the environment is now paying a high price

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions

After a long time bargaining with the merchant, Jack bought the raincoat for ________ of the original price

A. fraction

B. piece

C. part

D. spot

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.

I haven’t seen either James or his sister for a very long time now.

A. It has been a long time since I saw either James or his sister. 

B. I know I’ve met James, but I don’t think I’ve met his sister before. 

C. Neither James nor his sister has been seen by anyone for ages. 

D. I’ve met both James and his sister before, but it was a long time ago.

* Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.

 Now our parents are still alive. We should be grateful to them and thank them for what they have done for us.

A. Now our parents are still alive to be grateful to and to be thanked for what they have done for us. 

B. If our parents are not alive, we will not need to be grateful to them and thank them for what they have done for us. 

C. We should be grateful to our parents when they are still alive and thank them for what they have done for us. 

D. Our parents will live longer if we are grateful to them and thank them for what they have done for us.

Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.

In the USA, the UK and many other countries, a lot of babies were born in the “baby boom” of the late 1940s and 1950s; after that the birth-rate fell. Baby boomers have now retired, or are approaching retirement, and this is causing headaches for many organizations: there are not enough people to succeed their top managers when they retire.

Does your organization have key staff who can’t easily be replaced? A CEO or financial director, perhaps, or a technical expert with knowledge that nobody else in the organization has. If your answer is “yes”, what will happen when they retire, or leave for another company? Will you wait until the last moment before looking for someone to replace them? Or is your organization thinking about likely future changes now, as it should be, and making plans, so that there is likely to be someone ready to replace the person leaving? If the answer is that you are planning ahead, your organization is carrying out succession planning.

Succession planning means looking inside the organization for “high-fliers” - current staff members with the potential to fill key positions - and planning the training, responsibilities and promotion they need, to make them ready when a senior vacancy occurs - which may not be for several years. The company benefits by being able to make an internal promotion when a key person leaves, and in the meantime it benefits by developing the skills of its high-fliers and encouraging them to stay. And the high-fliers benefit, because they achieve their full potential, a career is planned for them within the organization, and they can look forward to a senior post in time.

The training program planned for the high-fliers will help them to develop the leadership skills they need for more senior roles, skills such as planning long-term strategies. A career path is also planned, so that each high-flier moves into a number of different positions over a few years, to gain the experience and know ledge they need.

Sometimes a staff member is chosen as a potential successor to a particular senior manager, but a better method is for organizations to select a number of high-fliers, and prepare them for a range of senior roles. An organization can’t be certain when a particular senior manager will leave. Having a group of people being prepared fee top positions makes it easier to replace someone who leaves unexpectedly, and also means that there are other people available if a high-flier leaves the company.

Which of the following can best replace the word “senior” the passage?

A. junior

B. top ranking

C. older 

D. low-paid

Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.

In the USA, the UK and many other countries, a lot of babies were born in the “baby boom” of the late 1940s and 1950s; after that the birth-rate fell. Baby boomers have now retired, or are approaching retirement, and this is causing headaches for many organizations: there are not enough people to succeed their top managers when they retire.

Does your organization have key staff who can’t easily be replaced? A CEO or financial director, perhaps, or a technical expert with knowledge that nobody else in the organization has. If your answer is “yes”, what will happen when they retire, or leave for another company? Will you wait until the last moment before looking for someone to replace them? Or is your organization thinking about likely future changes now, as it should be, and making plans, so that there is likely to be someone ready to replace the person leaving? If the answer is that you are planning ahead, your organization is carrying out succession planning.

Succession planning means looking inside the organization for “high-fliers” - current staff members with the potential to fill key positions - and planning the training, responsibilities and promotion they need, to make them ready when a senior vacancy occurs - which may not be for several years. The company benefits by being able to make an internal promotion when a key person leaves, and in the meantime it benefits by developing the skills of its high-fliers and encouraging them to stay. And the high-fliers benefit, because they achieve their full potential, a career is planned for them within the organization, and they can look forward to a senior post in time.

The training program planned for the high-fliers will help them to develop the leadership skills they need for more senior roles, skills such as planning long-term strategies. A career path is also planned, so that each high-flier moves into a number of different positions over a few years, to gain the experience and know ledge they need.

Sometimes a staff member is chosen as a potential successor to a particular senior manager, but a better method is for organizations to select a number of high-fliers, and prepare them for a range of senior roles. An organization can’t be certain when a particular senior manager will leave. Having a group of people being prepared fee top positions makes it easier to replace someone who leaves unexpectedly, and also means that there are other people available if a high-flier leaves the company.

All of the following are mentioned as benefits of succession planning EXCEPT _______.

A. the promotion of a staff member

B. the improvement of important skill 

C. the potential for higher salaries

D. the chance for more experience

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions

The custom of paying a bride price before marriage is still a well-established part of many African cultures. In paying a bride price, the family of the groom must provide payment to the family of the bride before the marriage is allowed. The bride price can vary greatly from culture to culture in Africa. In the Zulu and Swazi tribes of southern Africa, the bride price often takes the form of cattle. In Western African, kola nuts, shells, and other goods are often used for the payment of the bride price. The actual payment of money sometimes takes place, but the payment of goods is more frequent. The amount of paid in a bride price can also vary. In modern times, the bride price is occasionally quite small and its value is mainly symbolic. However, the bride price can still be quite high, especially among prominent or highly traditional families.

There are a number of justifications used to explain the payment of bride price. The first is that the bride price represents an acknowledgement of the expense the bride’s family has gone in order to raise her and bring her up as a suitable bride for the groom. It also represents payment for the loss of a family member, since the bride will officially become a member of her husband’s family and will leave her own. On a deeper level the bride price represents payment for the fact that the bride will bring children into the family of the groom, thereby increasing the wealth of the family. This concept is reinforced by the fact that the bride price must often be returned if the bride fails to bear children.

The payment of the bride price has quite a number of effects on African society. First, the payment of bride price acts to increase the stability of African family structures. Sons are dependent on their fathers and older relatives to help them pay the bride price of their wives, and this generally leads to greater levels of obedience and respect. The negotiations between the two families concerning the bride price allow the parents and other family members to meet and get to know one another before the marriage. Finally, since the bride price must often be repaid in case of divorce, the bride’s family often works to make sure that any marital problems are solved quickly. Bride prices also work as a system of wealth distribution in African cultures. Wealthier families can afford to support the marriage of their son, and thus their wealth is transferred to other families.

The author uses the word “marital” to indicate that the problems are related to____.

A. money             

B. laws                 

C. pregnancy                 

D. marriage

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following question

People can become very _______ when they are stuck in traffic for a long time.

A. single-minded

B. bad-tempered

C. even-tempered

D. even-handed